Tag: North Heath

July 12th – With it being so sunny, and no shortage of people around, I didn’t expect to see the deer at Chasewater. Fortuitously, I was wrong; there were three discrete groups, one with a young fawn, all browsing the North Heath.

They were largely tolerant of my attention, and were looking in good health.

A sight I still find astounding. Such beautiful creatures.

November 16th – A grim ride, mostly in rain, up to Chasewater and back round by Brownhills Common. It wasn’t cold, but the light was atrocious and it didn’t feel great to be out to be honest. Some great views at Chasewater, though, with that wonderful colour from yesterday. I see the grebes are in winter plumage now, and the waterline on Jeffrey’s Swag and the North Shore could have been Penmaen.

Mr. Whiskers was the first cat I’ve ever seen on the north shore. He did’t seem to be lost. 

Back in Brownhills, a lone cygnet made the canal view complete, and winter marigolds guerrilla planted by Becks Bridge on the Pelsall Road  raised a smile.

Hope the weather improves soon.

November 10th – A lunchtime at Chasewater on a beautiful late autumn day – the sun was warm on my back and the riding easy but boggy after the last two days of rains. The north heath was as gorgeous as ever, and the level does seem to be rising now the valves are closed and the creek is flowing well.

The Westie waiting outside the cafe was a dear little thing.

November 2nd – Up to Chasewater for the first time in a while. The day was more settled, but still with the grey skies, and at times, spotting with rain. Nice to see the cows back on the north heath, and the boaters and water-skiers were enjoying a day on the water.

At the railway, utterly inexplicably, a whole bunch of classic vehicles with no clue as to the reason for their presence; a real mystery.

The water level is still seemingly somewhat low; but the valves are now closed and it’s just a wait now for the rains. I’m not really relishing that thought over much.

December 1st – First of all, my apologies. On my main blog I advertised the Chasewater Christmas Fayre for the day heavily; the press release from Staffordshire Council read well, and it looked to be a great event. When I turned up for a look around at midday, it was dire. 5 stalls, one of which was promoting the Forest of Mercia did not a great Christmas event make. My apologies to anyone who attended after reading my advert – I do try to promote decent events. I shall be more careful in future.

Disappointed by the Fayre, and still suffering with a stomach bug, I set out around Chasewater on a pleasantly sunny winter day. The North Heath looked pleasingly dramatic in it’s winter jacket, but sadly, no sign of the deer. Returning, I headed back over the Common and noted some management works in progress, which was good to see.

A pleasant ride, and I would have been out longer but my energy just wasn’t there.

November 16th – I went up to Chasewater just to spin around the park. I haven’t done that for ages, but in the shorter, colder days of winter I’ll return to it more and more. Although it’s nice to see the lake busy in summer, like Cannock Chase, the magic comes when it’s deserted and few venture out. Apart from the odd dog walker and twitchers there to catch the Great Northern Diver that had been exciting local birders all week, I saw few folk, and as dark fell, I felt the familiar haunting feeling I get here… A mixture of enjoyment, desolation and sense of smallness in the great dark.

The lake seems to hover these days about a foot off full, and is functioning normally, with Fly Creek flowing well to keep it topped up. As I folded back over the causeway, the last bit of the sunset over Norton and Jeffrey’s Swag was quite nice, and in the dark from the Balcony Shore, it seemed the resurgent Water Sports Centre was getting ready for a party.

One of the few joys of the off season is returning to old haunts.

May 19th – Up on the north heath at Chasewater, something rather great has been happening. From the existing path that runs over the hill from Norton Lakeside halt to Chasewater Heaths, there’s a new one been laid towards the lake. Well finished, it bends to the east, crosses a couple of really nice boardwalks and crosses Fly Creek, whereupon it meets the eastern path from behind the Rugby Club. A lot of work must have gone into it, and it opens up the north eastern heath to walkers beautifully. 

For those interested, this is what Brownhills Common should look like: a mixture of heath grassland, deciduous copse and heathers. Not a conifer in sight and the deer absolutely love it, as do the resident maintenance crew, the cows. It varies from being wide open, to dense native woodland, and it’s teeming with life – flora, amphibian, insect, mammal and avian. It’s all here, and a fine work of conservation it is.

June 5th – It was another miserable day, but the wildlife at Chasewater was showing well. There were several deer on the north heath, but it was this stray hind that caught my eye. Hanging around the railway line, she seemed to be after food, but didn’t sam to quite trust me. Coming quite close at times, the scene was spoiled, as it usually is in summer, by an idiot with a dog off the lead.